Hub-lamp for bicycles or other vehicles having spider wheels



. (No Model.)

Y T. s. MILLER. HUB LAMP FOR BIGYGLES 0R OTHER VEHICLES HAVING SPIDER WHEELS.

l\o.264=,955. Patented Sept. 26, 1882.

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UNITED STAT-Es PATENT OFFICE..

rreci/[As s. MILLR, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

HUB-LAMP FOR BICYCLES 0R OTHER VEHICLES HAVING SPIDER WHEELS.

SPECIFICATION `forming part of Letters Patent No. 264,955, dated September -2-6, 188.,

Y Application filed January ,27, 1852. (No model.) y

To all whom it may concern Beit known that I, Trios. SPENCER MILLER., a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Ghicngo, in the county of Cook and State of' Illinois, have invented a new and usef'ul Hub- Lamp for Bicycles, of which the 4following is a.

specification.

My invention relates to 'improvements in hub-lamps for bicycles or other vehicles having spider wheels of' which a focusing-reflector is used, forming a large part of' the main body ofthe lamp, and is pierced by a burner,'so as to allow the haine of said burner to burn in the focus of' said reflector, my mechanism embodying a new and usef'ul attachment to lit around axle of' the front wheel of a bicycle to which it is applied; and the objects of' my improvements are, lirst,to provide a lamp which may be used on a bicycle to throw a light upon the roadway immediately in front of' the'bicycle, so that its rider may be able to see with distinctness any obstacle that may come'in his way, and alsoto warn approaching vehicles or persons of' the presence of the bicyclist; second, to provide a reflector of' suflcient size and proper shape or curvature, as to throw a powerful light upon the roadway and to destroy the shadow of that portion ofthe felly and tire of' the front wheel ofjany wheel-vehicle which is or may be in front ofthe lamp 5'` and, third, to provide means for readily detaching the lamp from the axle or from the sleeve wh-ich is around the axle, the same mechanism ordevice to serve as a spring to relieve `the lamp from the jar to which the bicycle is necessarily subjected. I attain these objects hythemechanisin illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of the lamp and attachmerjt, the upper portion of' which is in Fig.2 is a sectional side elevation of' my whole device, and Fig. 2a across-sectional view ofl the sidelight reflector Gr. (Shown in dotted lines in Fig. l and in fulllines in Fig.

2.) Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view ol' a bicycle iront wheel, showing the position of' my hublamp and the direction of' the rays of' light rellected from my focusing-reflector.

Similar letters refer to similar parts th roughout the several views. i

A represents a rellector, made of any suitable material, already or adapted to be polare t e points F andj', for it is a well-known law in optics that when a lightis placed in one focus of' a hol-low ellipsoidthe rays ot' light Will be rellected or concentrated at the other focus; and it will therefore be seen that .by using a small section of this ellipsoid as a relector and placing a lightin the focus nearest .this section the rayswill all be reflected or concentrated at the other focus 5 and if' anl object be placed between lthese points (which in a spider wheel is the felly or tire) the shadow of' this object will'disappear or be renderedvoid at the same point where the rays ot` lightare eolicentrated or focused, as is fully-illustrated in Fig. 3.'

'lhe glass disk a is tted into a recess of the reflector, as shown in Fig. 2, and is held in its position by an annular wire spring, c', fitting into a recess of appropriate size and form. The-glass disk is readily removed to allow cleaning of' the reflector by lirst reinoving the wire spring, which-,is done by inserting the thumb-nail Linder any side of the wire and springing the wiretoward the center 'of the circle that it in its shape forms. is cut through the reflector at such a position that the burner b may produce its llame in the l'ocus F. Extending vertically down and in l'ront of' the glass disk-a is aside light reflector, G,a cross section of' which is shown in Fig. 2, which reliector G is hinged at g', and provided at its upper end with a catch, g, which hooks upon the upper edge of the reflector A to hold the side reflector in its operative position. This side reflector is made of' polished sheet metal stamped into shape, (represented by Fig. 2%) and is designed to rellect rays ot' light sidewise, or, in other words, at right angles to the rays reflected' from the principal reflector, and thus operate as a substitute for the ordinary side-lights, which are merely openings in the side of' the case closed with glass; but while my side reflector isa useful auxiliary to the lamp, it is notabsolutely necessary for the successful operation of my lamp.

B is an oil-box, rectangular in all sections, parallel to any side, of sufficient capacity to hold oil enough for four or live hours7 burning. The burner b is an ordinary keroseneburner, with the wick-tube and hood of sufli- `cient length to allow the flame from the wick to burn in the focus F ofthe reflector. A plain straight wick-tube may be inserted in place of the one shown in case sperm-oil is to be used.

The case C is made of brass, tin, or other suitable material, having in shape, first, a height equal to the added measures of the height of oil-box B, glass disk a, and an extra half-inch for spare room; second, in depth equal to the depth ofthe reflector; and, third, in width equal to the large diameter of the reflector. The shape shown in the drawings is the preferable one, vfor the reason that the sides follow the direction of the spokes of the wheel to which itis applied. The case C is provided with a swinging bottom,c,hinged at e', to allow, when open, the passage of the oilbox B. When closed the bottom e is fastened with a fastening, c2. The top ot' the case C is provided with a hood, e, riveted into its place, and is bent or formed into the shape indicated in the drawings. The opening for ventilation is at the side of the lamp. The top of the case C is cut in such a mannerthat the lips e4 may be turned up, as shown in Fig. l, being in width equal to the space between the sides ot the hood, and also fitting the same. l depend upon the natural stiffness ofthe material used in the construction ot' the case to keep the pieces or lips c4 in theirproper position. These pieces or lips, turned in this way, serve to deliect the wind and prevent it from blowing down the openings c5 and a3, which would extinguish the iame b2. The hole a3 is made in the reliector A to allow ventilation for the tlame b2, and cut directly above the flame and directly below the opening c5. Air is admitted at the openings e in the rear of the case C, and passes transversely the box c7 before it is allowed to assist in the combustion ot' the oil at the tlalne b2.

A sleeve, D, made of brass or tin and lined with felt or leather, is made to tit about the axle of the front wheel ot' the bicycle to which the lamp is applied, the sleeve D being provided with a hinge, d, to allow opening or shuting for taking oil' or putting the sleeve onto the axle. A coil-spring, d', between the arms d3, is of sufficient strength or stillness to hold said sleeve closed over the axle, and by pressing the spring together with the thumb and foretinger the whole lamp is readily detached trom the axle. The sleeve D is also provided with eyelets d2, fastened on the bottom ot' the sleeve, as shown in the drawings.

E is a wire spring running through the hood c3 and through the ears e8 to prevent side motion, and bent in the shape indicated in Fig. 1, the ends ot the spring E being turned at right angles eto fit or passv through the eyelets cl2, and it will be seen that with the wire bent in the form indicated in Fig.'1 it will serve as a spring for the lamp to prevent the jarring to which the biycle is necessarily subjected. By'pressing the spring E together at the points e' with the thumb and fore or middle linger of one hand the whole lamp and spring will be instantly detached from the sleeve.

l am well aware of the fact that hub-lamps now in use depend more upon the size of the liame produced than upon the character of the reiiector used. I invented this device to utilize the maximum reiecting-power, and also to reliect the rays of light only where they are needed and in my experiments I decided that a focusing-reflector was preferable to a parabolic, for this reason, the parabolic reliector made the rim of the wheel cast a long black shadow immediately in front of the rider, while my foeusing-reliector (with the focusingpoint a little beyond the rim of the wheel, Fig. 3,) cast a shadow which came to a point the same distance from the rim as the foeusf, Fig. 3. This shadow is of no consequence to the rider on a dark night.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure hy Letters Patent, isl l. The combination, with the spider-wheel of a bicycle or yother vehicle, of a .hub-lamp having a focusing-reflector, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a hub-lamp with the spring E, serving to attach and detach the` lamp from the sleeve D, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a hub-lamp and with a detachable sleeve, of a spring and the arms d3 d3, substantially as described.

4. The combination ofthe sleeve D with the spring E, substantially as described.

5. The combination of a bicycle with the sleeve D and the coil-spring, substantially as described.

6. A hub-lamp consisting of a case, (l, `the focusiiig-reector A, secured to the front plate of the case, and provided with a glass disk, a, held in position by the annular spring a', the hood c3, and an oil-box, B, which is inserted from below into the case G, and secured in position by the hinged cover c, forming the bottom of the case, all substantially as described.

7. In a hub-lamp, the combinatipn, with the focus'ng-retlector and with the glass disk a, of the hinged reliector G, vertically arranged in front of the glass disk, and adapted to rellect a portion of the rays laterally of the lamp and the general direction of the 'rays from the focusing-reliector, all substantially as described and shown.

THOS. SPENCER MILLER.

Witnesses:

J Aeon LoRUM, WILLIAM HENRY CoEN.

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